


We Hold Each Other

by alanna_the_lionheart



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Angst, Comfort, Crying, Dancing, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Hugs, Hurt/Comfort, Lian Yu, Love, Magic, Rituals, Romance, Season/Series 04, Short & Sweet, Short One Shot, Speculation, olicity - Freeform, spec fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-04
Updated: 2016-05-04
Packaged: 2018-06-06 10:35:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,722
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6750448
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alanna_the_lionheart/pseuds/alanna_the_lionheart
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After being kidnapped from a Palmer Tech party by a mysterious shaman, Oliver and Felicity find themselves in the last place they ever expected to be: Lian Yu. With some help from the shaman (and more than a little help from the woman he loves) Oliver finds himself armed with a weapon that may help him defeat Darhk. But before they return to Star City, Oliver has something he wants to show Felicity, and Felicity comes to realize something important about Oliver in return. Contains magic rituals, dancing, and a Lian Yu field trip.</p>
            </blockquote>





	We Hold Each Other

**Author's Note:**

> I started writing this before the sneak preview comic came out, so the beginning isn’t necessarily canon compliant, but I kept it because I already loved it. I did borrow from the comic for inspiration about the shaman’s name though: “Khalidah” means “immortal” or “eternal.”
> 
> Title of the story is taken from the song "We Hold Each Other" by A Great Big World, which is totally an Olicity song. :)
> 
> Enjoy!

**We Hold Each Other**

 

As Felicity watches the strange shaman prepare for the ritual, she wonders how it’s possible that twenty-four hours ago she was still debating what dress to wear to the Palmer Tech party: the Palmer Tech party that Oliver had insisted on going to so that he could make sure she was safe, even though she’d assured him that the security team Palmer Tech had hired would be more than sufficient.

 

Felicity doesn’t try to stop Oliver from coming to the party. She tells herself it’s because she doesn’t really care if he comes or not, but if she’s completely honest with herself, the truth is quite the opposite. She  _ wants _ him to be there. 

 

She doesn’t regret breaking things off with Oliver. She knows she made the right decision; not just for herself, but for  _ them _ . But the logic of her decision doesn’t change the fact that she  _ misses him _ . She misses him so much sometimes she feels it as a physical ache, squeezing her heart in her chest and making it hard for her to breathe.

 

Even though Oliver spends most of the night standing off to the side, nursing a glass of whiskey and making polite small talk with anyone who approaches him, she’s grateful for his presence, because for just a few short hours, everything hurts a little bit less. 

 

And then the dancing starts.

 

Felicity’s never been the type of girl to worry about being dateless, or having no one to dance with. But tonight feels different. Tonight she stands to the side and watches her employees dance with their loved ones and it  _ hurts.  _ God, it hurts.

 

She downs her third glass of wine, clenching the stem tightly in her shaking fingers, and she glances over at Oliver. He’s sitting alone against the wall, empty whiskey glass in hand, and the look in his eyes tells her that he’s hurting just as much as she is.

 

“Frack it,” she whispers out loud, setting her glass down on the chair next to her. She stands, body tingling from a combination of nerves and the alcohol, and she walks toward Oliver. This is a terrible idea, and logically she knows that, but after everything she’s been through - everything  _ they’ve _ been through - she needs this.

 

Just one dance.

 

She doesn’t expect him to say “yes.”  _ You know me, Felicity. I don’t dance.  _ But when she holds out her hand Oliver takes it, and her palm starts to sweat as he leads her to the dance floor without a word.

Felicity always assumed that Oliver knew how to dance and just chose not to; didn’t  _ all _ rich kids know how to dance from all those fancy parties their parents made them attend? But as it turns out, Oliver is a  _ terrible _ dancer...and she couldn’t care less, because he’s warm and solid against her, and his steady heartbeat fills her with a sense of calm she hasn’t felt since Laurel died.

 

She holds on tight as they sway lazily around the floor, bumping into other couples without apology. It’s just the two of them, and in that moment they need each other, screw what everyone else thinks. With his cheek pressed to the top of her head and her own cheek resting over his heart, they take comfort in each other.

 

The last thing Felicity remembers before the world fades to black is Oliver’s arms going limp around her.

 

* * *

 

They awaken many hours later in a strange cave, with torches set along the walls and steps leading up to a small pedestal, on top of which perches a white idol that looks strangely similar to Darhk’s.

 

It’s then that they meet Khalidah, and she explains to them why she’s brought them here to Lian Yu.

 

“You’re telling me that this idol has the power to defeat Damien Darhk?” Oliver asks, staring at the woman incredulously.

 

“No, Oliver Queen. That power lies within you. Think of the idol as a tool. Once you’ve powered it, it will be able to negate dark magic. Damien Darhk will still have his magic, but it will be powerless against you. You will need to defeat him, but it will be on your  _ own _ terms, not his.”

 

“So it’s like...an anti-idol?” Felicity speculates.

 

Khalidah nods. “In a way, yes. The only way to fight dark magic is with light. Darkness cannot exist in the light, after all.”

 

“What do I have to do?” Oliver asks, and the fact that he already seems to be on board with this crazy idea floors her.

 

“It’s a simple ritual. All that’s required is the proper words and a host to supply the power.”

 

“And how does he…‘supply the power?’” Felicity asked cautiously, glancing over at Oliver. There has to be more to this than the woman is letting on. Surely it can’t really be “simple.”

 

And then Khalidah smiles. “Darhk’s idol is powered by darkness, by hate. And what’s the opposite of hate, Ms. Smoak?”

 

Felicity opens her mouth to respond...but then Oliver answers for her.

 

“Love.”

 

* * *

 

Felicity stares nervously at Oliver, who’s standing at the foot of the steps leading up to the idol with his eyes closed. Khalidah told him to focus on the thing that makes him happiest - the thing he loves most - and with the words needed to activate it, the idol would feed on those thoughts and use them to power itself.

 

It had sounded like a load of mumbo jumbo to Felicity when the shaman had explained it, and quite frankly it _ still  _ does. And yet...she’s seen an awful lot of things she can’t explain this past year. Perhaps this will just be another item to add to her “I Can’t Believe That Just Happened” List (which has grown exponentially since she met Oliver Queen).

 

“Are you ready, Oliver?” Khalidah asks as she turned to face him.

 

Oliver opens his eyes. “As I’ll ever be,” he answers, and Felicity’s heart starts beating hard in her chest.

 

“What can I do?” she asks, her voice trembling slightly, fear of the unknown filling her with dread.

 

Khalidah smiles at her. “Your presence here should be enough, Felicity.”

 

Felicity shakes her head, her fingers twitching together nervously. What does that even  _ mean _ ?

 

But then Khalidah puts her hands up and starts chanting, and Felicity can only stand and watch quietly. 

 

Nothing happens at first. As Khalidah speaks, Oliver stands still and quiet, eyes closed and breathing slow and even. After a minute of nothing, Felicity starts to wonder if something’s gone wrong.

 

But then Oliver bites his lower lip, his brow furrowing. Felicity takes a step closer so she can see him better. As Khalidah continues to chant, Oliver’s hands clench into fists at his side, and his body jerks slightly. 

 

“Oliver?” Felicity calls tentatively. He doesn’t answer her, and she takes another step closer.

 

“Oliver?” she tries again.

 

Oliver’s body jerks again, harder this time, and he gasps quietly. He bites his lip so hard it starts to bleed, and he clenches his jaw, clearly in pain.

 

“You didn’t say this was going to hurt him!” she screams at the shaman, but the woman doesn’t answer her. Instead she keeps chanting, and Felicity looks back at Oliver helplessly.

 

Then he screams, and Felicity’s feet are moving before she can even think to stop them. She reaches his side just as his knees hit the ground.

 

“Oliver? Oliver, I’m here. It’s okay.”

 

He doesn’t hear her. Instead he doubles over, clutching one hand to his chest as he screams again.

 

“Oliver, can you hear me? Oliver?... _ Oliver! _ ”

 

She can’t bear it anymore, and she reaches out a hand and touches his shoulder. She closes her eyes instantly as pain sears through her, starting from where her hand touches him and spreading quickly up her arm and down through the rest of her body. Felicity cries out, clenching her teeth against the fire that burns in her veins. The pain is unbearable, there’s no way she’ll survive this.

 

And then….

 

Slowly but surely, the pain lessens. The heat doesn’t disappear, but instead turns into something else. Fire continues to course through her, but it doesn’t hurt anymore; it fills her with warmth and light. Felicity fists her hand into Oliver’s shirt as the warmth spreads over her like a blanket, making her feel safe and comforted...making her feel loved.

 

She looks at Oliver and finds that his eyes are finally open, and he’s staring back at her with so much emotion in his gaze that Felicity feels like she could easily be crushed under the weight of it. 

 

The shaman chants faster somewhere behind them, but her voice drifts through the air like it’s part of a dream, and the only thing that’s real is the man kneeling in front of her, looking at her like she’s the only thing that matters. 

 

Felicity doesn’t think twice. She holds out her free hand to him, and he looks down at it in wonder before gripping it and holding on tightly.

 

Felicity closes her eyes and gasps as images flash through her mind, too fast for her to comprehend. The only thing she can tell is that they’re images of her and Oliver. She tries to focus on them, but they course through her mind like sand through her fingers: the tighter she tries to grab on, the faster they trickle away. So instead she holds Oliver’s hand tighter and focuses on the warmth of his touch.

 

Without warning, the images stop...but the last image lingers just long enough that she’s able to make it out: an image of her in her wedding dress. Feelings that aren’t hers crash inside her chest, and her heart skips a beat as she looks at herself through Oliver’s eyes.

 

_ She’s beautiful - the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen - and his heart aches at the thought of spending the rest of his life with her. In this brief moment, before the reality of the situation comes crashing down on him, he’s happier than he’s ever been, and it’s all because of HER. _

 

Tears rise in Felicity’s eyes at the depth of love she feels from the man beside her. Her heart races faster as the fire in her blood intensifies, her body filling up with her own overwhelming love - for him. She laughs at the sensation. Her love for him feels different, but it’s no less powerful than his. She wonders if he can feel it, too.

 

She opens her eyes tentatively, and when she sees the tear tracks on his cheeks she knows that he can.

 

The chanting stops suddenly, and a faint white glow begins to emanate from their clasped hands. Instinct tells her to pull away, and she tries to, but their hands are stuck firm. They both watch in fascination as the glow coalesces into a ball of bright light. It pulls away from them and travels through the air before passing into the idol. The idol glows brightly for just a second and then stops.

 

The shaman turns to them and smiles.

 

“It is done.”

 

Felicity turns her gaze back to Oliver, and he smiles at her tiredly. 

 

_ The thing that makes him happiest. The thing he loves most. _

 

Felicity rubs her hand against his shoulder soothingly. She already knows the answer, but she asks the question anyway.

 

“Oliver...what did you think about?”

 

Oliver smiles wider, eyes bright with unshed tears. 

 

“I thought of _ you _ .”

 

Felicity blushes, unable to help herself, and Oliver stands, using their still entwined hands to pull her up to her feet. He squeezes her hand gently before pulling away, and Felicity misses his touch instantly.

 

Oliver turns from her and walks up the stairs to the idol. Felicity follows, standing by his side as he picks it up, turning it over carefully in his hands. It looks identical to Darhk’s aside from its ivory color.

 

“There’s a plane waiting on the beach to take you back to Star City,” Khalidah tells them. “When you’re ready.”

 

Felicity looks over at Oliver, who continues to stare at the idol in his hands.

 

“Let’s go home, Oliver,” she prompts.

 

He doesn’t answer right away. He ponders the idol thoughtfully, and she can practically hear the gears turning in his head. Finally, he puts the idol back on its pedestal and turns to her.

 

“Not yet,” he whispers.

 

“What?” she asks in confusion. “Oliver, don’t you want to get the hell off this island?”

 

“Of course I do,” he answers simply. “But there’s...something I need to do first.”

 

Khalidah smiles at him, and as much as Felicity appreciates the woman’s help she kind of wants to smack that knowing look off her face.

 

“It’s mid-morning here,” Khalidah says. “Spend the day and night if you want. The plane can take you home tomorrow morning.”

 

Oliver nods gratefully at the shaman and turns back to Felicity.

 

Felicity shakes her head. “I don’t understand.”

 

Oliver smiles as he says, “There’s something I want to show you.”

 

* * *

 

Oliver won’t tell her where he’s taking her at first, and Felicity decides not to ask. She can tell that this is important to him, and when he wants her to know, she trusts that he’ll tell her. But after an hour of walking through dense forest in high heels, her feet are sore and she needs answers.

 

“Oliver, where exactly are we going?” she asks, pausing to lean against a tree and attempt to catch her breath.

 

Oliver stops, looking her up and down. His gaze lands on her feet, and he sighs.

 

“I’m sorry, Felicity. I should have thought about this,” he says, gesturing at her shoes. “Neither of us is exactly dressed for traipsing through the woods.” 

 

Felicity looks down at her once beautiful dress, now smudged with dirt and sporting a small tear down one side from where she snagged it on a bush. “You don’t say,” she teases, quirking her eyebrow at him with a laugh.

 

Oliver chuckles in return, and the sound is like music to her ears after two long months of near silence between them. “Come on. Let’s make a quick detour and I’ll tell you where we’re going.”

 

Thirty minutes later, they find themselves outside the broken down airplane that he brought her and Diggle to that summer they’d come here to find him. Oliver gives her jeans, a tank top, and a pair of boots to change into before grabbing clothes for himself and moving toward the back of the plane to change.

 

The tank top fits her well, though the jeans are a bit snug and the boots a bit big. But with two extra pairs of socks on her feet the boots fit fine; a far more practical pair of shoes for walking through the woods. She wonders briefly who they used to belong to, and after a bit of thought a name comes back to her.

 

They must have belonged to Shado.

 

She doesn’t have a lot time to think on this though, as Oliver returns from the back of the plane. He’s wearing an old t-shirt, a pair of khakis, and boots, and he’s carrying a backpack. The t-shirt’s a bit snug, showing off his muscular arms, and Felicity feels a traitorous blush rise in her cheeks. Oliver tactfully ignores it as he rummages through a few bins, stuffing items into the backpack.

 

When he’s done, he throws the full pack onto his back and takes a deep breath.

 

“Ready to go?” he asks her.

 

Felicity nods, and as she follows him out of the plane she asks, “Go where, Oliver?”

 

“To visit the ghosts of my past.”

 

* * *

 

Two hours later, Felicity finds herself standing beside a small graveyard. The pieces of wood that mark the four graves are weathered and dirty, but still intact. She can just make out the names carved carefully into each one.

 

**_Robert Queen_ **

 

**_Shado_ **

 

**_Yao Fei_ **

 

**_Taiana_ **

 

She stands quietly to the side as Oliver bends down at his father’s grave and carefully rearranges the rocks that have shifted over the years.

 

She’s heard of Yao Fei, and of Shado, and of course she knows Robert. But the last one is a name she doesn’t recognize.

 

“Who was Taiana?” Felicity asks quietly as Oliver starts picking stray branches and leaves off his father’s resting place.

 

“Another woman I met on the island,” Oliver answers simply, and if the situation weren’t so serious Felicity would roll her eyes at the thought of Oliver finding  _ another _ woman on this miserable island. She waits as Oliver finishes what he’s doing, then moves to stand beside her. 

 

“She died during my fourth year here,” he continues. “A man named Baron Reiter killed her. She’s the reason I ended up in Russia. She’s….” Oliver trails off, and he touches his left hand to his chest. “She’s the reason I got this,” he concludes, and he pulls down the neck of his shirt to show her the Bratva tattoo.

 

Felicity nods quietly, turning her gaze back to the graves.

 

“She was a good woman,” Oliver continues. “She didn’t deserve to die here.”

 

“None of them did,” Felicity agrees, and Oliver smiles sadly.

 

“No. No, they didn’t.”

 

Felicity lets out a deep breath, and she runs a hand along the hem of the tank top she’s wearing.

 

“Was this hers?” she asks.

 

Oliver shakes his head.

 

“Shado’s,” he answers. He takes a deep breath in, then breathes it out slowly before continuing. “She and Slade trained me when I was here. She was a fighter, just like her father. She died because a mad man asked me to make a decision and I couldn’t do it. The dragon tattoo I had was just like hers. Slade gave it to me to punish me; to remind me that her death was my burden to bear. But last summer...you helped me realize that her death wasn’t my fault.  _ Ivo  _ killed her, not me. There was nothing I could have done.”

 

Felicity watches him silently. She’d known about the tattoo already; it was her prompting last summer that had convinced him he should rid himself of the extra weight on his shoulders. But hearing the story again - being  _ here _ , where it all happened - it makes everything so much more real. 

 

Oliver has grown a lot in the time that she’s known him. He’s learned to take on a bit less burden; learned to absolve himself of blame and guilt that he shouldn’t have to feel. He’s learned to ask for help sometimes. And now - showing her this place, sharing his stories - he’s beginning to open up.

 

Maybe he  _ isn’t _ the same man who lived on this island for five years. Not entirely, at least.

 

Maybe he  _ can _ change. 

 

Maybe he’s already begun.

 

Oliver stares quietly down at Shado’s grave, rubbing a hand unconsciously along his left shoulder blade. 

 

And it’s there, standing beside the ghosts of Oliver’s past, that Felicity begins to think that maybe they can give this another chance.

 

She nods, smoothing the tank top back down against her stomach, and without a word she bends down and starts cleaning up Shado’s grave; the same way Oliver did with his father’s. 

 

Oliver moves past her to Yao Fei’s grave, and as he brushes past he squeezes her shoulder gently. It’s a sign of gratitude, and Felicity smiles to herself as she helps him tend the gravesite.

 

They work on Taiana’s grave together, Oliver replacing some of the stones that have fallen away while Felicity carefully brushes dirt off the wooden plank that serves as the headstone before replacing it.

 

When they’re done, they stand back to survey their handiwork.

 

Great care and love have been shown here, and it’s clear to Felicity that Oliver’s been back to this site many times.

 

She gazes silently down at the graves, paying her respects to four people she’s never met...until a soft noise from beside her tears her from her thoughts. She looks over at Oliver, and her heart skips a beat when she realizes that he’s crying.

 

“This place has taken so much from me. And it’s not just this island. My life as the Arrow…..”

 

He trails off, and without a word, Felicity sidles up closer to him, resting her head carefully against his shoulder and wrapping an arm around his waist. Oliver trembles as he rests his head on top of hers and takes a deep, shaky breath. He wraps his own arm around her in kind and looks back to the gravesite.

 

“Tommy, my mother...Laurel. I’ve lost so many people, Felicity,” he whispers, and his voice breaks on her name.

 

Felicity whispers his name in return, and she squeezes him tighter. Oliver shudders, and when she feels his tears hit the top of her head she turns, wraps her other arm around him, and pulls him into a hug.

 

Oliver gasps in surprise, but she doesn’t let go. Instead she buries her face against his chest and breathes slowly, rubbing her hands along his back soothingly. Eventually, Oliver wraps his other arm around her, pulling her closer as he rests his face against the top of her head. She knows he’s crying from the way his chest hitches against hers; the way his tears splash warmly into her hair. She holds him close and does her best to comfort him, whispering “it’s okay” and “I’m here” and “I love you” over his heart.

 

And as they stand together at the edge of the past, they hold each other tight...and Oliver learns to lean on her.

 

In time, his breathing returns to normal, and when she pulls away his cheeks are stained with tears, his eyes red...but he’s smiling.

 

Felicity releases him, stepping back to stand at his side once more, staring thoughtfully at the four graves in front of her. So many people she never got to meet. So many stories buried deep in his past. So many pieces of his life that were a mystery to her.

 

But not anymore.

 

Felicity reaches out, grips Oliver’s hand tightly in hers, and squeezes.

 

“Thank you for sharing this with me, Oliver,” she says quietly.

 

And Oliver squeezes her hand back.

 

“You’re welcome.”

 

**_...the end…_ **

**Author's Note:**

> This is 1000% personal wish fulfillment. Do I think Oliver will actually stick around Lian Yu with Felicity? No. Do I want him to? So, so much. ;)
> 
> There’s a sequel in the works for this, but it won’t be finished for maybe a week or so.
> 
> Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed it. :)


End file.
